One of the best female jiu-jitsu competitors is making her amateur mixed martial arts debut Friday night.
Luanna Alzuguir, a five-time jiu-jitsu world champion as a black belt and ADCC 2009 gold medalist, is slated to take on Brittney Cloudy in a flyweight title bout at Gateway Fighting Series, which takes place Oct. 13 in St. Charles, Mo.
Alzuguir, 32, prepared for her MMA debut with the likes of UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes and strawweight Nina Ansaroff at American Top Team in Florida. She started training jiu-jitsu at age 9, and graduated to black belt in 2007.